11-year-old from Pennsylvania recovering after being attacked by alligator during Marion County fishing trip

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — An 11-year-old boy from Pennsylvania is on the road to recovery after being attacked by an alligator while he was on a fishing trip in Florida.

A photo taken of Brodie shows him in good spirits and wearing a bright smile on his face the day he was released from the hospital.

Andrew Wright, one of Brodie’s relatives, said the young boy and his dad were fishing around mid-June at Nelson’s Fish Camp near Umatilla in Marion County when the attack happened.

“They did see alligators in the area. Nothing that was close to them at all and nothing that was of concern to them,” said Wright.

That quickly changed as Brodie went to put a fish back into the water after he had just reeled it in.

“The gator came out of nowhere. They didn’t ever see it,” said Wright.

According to Wright, the gator grabbed the 11-year-old by the arm. Brodie’s father immediately jumped onto it, hoping to pry its jaws open. As he fought the gator to let go of Brodie’s arm, the young boy would ultimately suffer extensive injuries to his arm.

“When he did that, the alligator did its roll, and it broke pretty much every bone in Brodie’s lower arm, severing part of his hand,” said Wright.

At the hospital, doctors had to amputate Brodie’s right hand, which Wright said was his dominant one when playing sports like baseball and football.

“Everything that he knew, doing everything with his right hand, he can’t do that anymore. Physically and emotionally, it’s going to be a very long road for him,” said Wright.

Despite the life-altering injury, Brodie has fought it bravely, carrying that same smile after leaving the hospital.

A GoFundMe for Brodie and his family had already raised more than $25,000 in donations as of Tuesday afternoon.

Wright said the overwhelming support they’ve received through social media has gone a long way in keeping their spirits up.

“It’s not going to be a short-term thing, so the more help, the better,” said Wright.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it captured and killed the nearly nine-foot alligator believed to be responsible for the attack.